This letter comes on the heels of significant soul searching and after much deliberation. The purpose of this letter is to provide reasoning and justification for my decision to leave the Republican Party. The reasons for my departure are two-fold: 1. I am hoping to send a message of repudiation of current destructive forces which have strong footholds within the party, and 2. The GOP’s lack of tackling issues pertinent to the nation’s best interest.
First, let me introduce myself and discuss my beliefs with you. I have been a life-long member of the Republican party, voting for Republican candidates throughout my life - until Donald Trump. My Republican roots were initially forged through legacy and heritage. My father, a loyal patriot who served in the FBI for 25 years and also held conservative beliefs, instilled these values in me. I also consider my religious faith to be a factor in my Republican leanings. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and generally hold traditional values about right and wrong. I denounce the evils of abortion, except for limited circumstances. I believe in the importance of family. I believe the rule of law is extremely important and is upheld by the general goodness and trustworthiness of the citizens. I hold a belief that civility in political discourse is of extreme importance. I believe that government should generally be only as big as it needs to be and that government spending should be held within the allotted budgets. We should pay our debts, or at least not balloon deficit spending. I support and honor our military and work at the VA myself. I support and honor our law enforcement who do an extremely difficult job day in and day out.
Now that you have a better idea of who I am, here are my reasons for leaving:
First, I am hoping to send a message to the party that the current cancer of Trumpism is destroying the party. By Trumpism, I am referring to nationalist, populist, racist views that are mixed with conspiracy theories and misinformation (or downright lies) from simple social media memes all the way up to the congressional members in the federal government willing to promulgate these lies for political power. The most recent and vehement examples of the destructive power of Trumpism was on display at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Conspiracy theories and crackpotism has, unfortunately, found a home in the GOP. Conspiracy theories did not start with Trump and have from time to time been a factor in this movement (i.e. John Birch Society, Glenn Beck’s chalkboard, etc.), but since Trump came to power, the conspiracy-believing faction has been given a megaphone and the results have been destructive. I recognize that the propogation of misinformation, lies, and conspiracy theories is not solely laid at the feet of the Republican Party itself, but rather is the result of a multifaceted machine with parts made up of right-wing media (FOX News) and so-called news (i.e. Newsmax, OAN, InfoWars, etc.), echo chambers on social media platforms, and complicit legislators who are more concerned with political power than telling truth to power. The GOP itself, in it’s messaging (or lack thereof) has also been complicit in Trump’s lie about a stolen election and has not censured or publicly decried the misinformation and crackpotism that has infested the party. I had hoped that after Trump left office that the Republican party would have come to its senses and availed itself from the grip of this misinformation plague, but sadly it has not. A majority of GOP Senators and House Republicans are not willing to hold our former president responsible or accountable for spreading anti-democratic lies about our election that led to an insurrection on the Capitol. Surely, the truth is more important than political power. I am writing to boldly state that I oppose the banal, lie-infested, undemocratic, and violence-inciting cranks that have too much hold in the party. If we truly are the party of “law and order” we need not support leaders who are (to use a Biblical phrase) “tossed to and fro with every wind” of political opinion thrown about by a constituency that has been led astray by a media spoonfeeding them lies and conspiracy theories.
Second, the GOP has not tackled, or even acknowledged, issues of extreme importance to our national good. Let me be specific about what issues I am discussing here - climate change, healthcare, and fiscal responsibility.
I will acknowledge my own years-long skepticism regarding manmade climate change. However, that skepticism was mainly due to talking points I had consumed through right-wing pundits and sources. Once I actually started to look into scientific journals and non-partisan scientific outlets, my position has shifted as the overwhelming and vast majority of the scientific community is in agreement about this issue. In my opinion, the GOP is missing the boat here. Climate change is a humanity-level crisis, but it also offers opportunities for market-based solutions. Instead of taking climate change seriously, the right wing media's response has been to attempt to discredit the science and to mock politicians who advocate for the seriousness of climate change through what-aboutist arguments and searching for hypocrisy (i.e. “why are you flying a private jet, eating hamburgers, living in a large home, etc. if you believe in climate change?”). All of this misdirection misses the mark and misleads the public about the actual climate crisis. Unfortunately, we also saw this type of anti-science rhetoric with the COVID-19 response and lives have been lost. Sadly, the GOP has come to be viewed as the anti-science party. Science can and should be harnessed for market-based solutions to real-world problems.
Regarding healthcare the GOP has been hellbent on dismantling the Affordable Care Act, but has not presented any decent or serious replacement. Healthcare should be a cornerstone of any political party’s platform and a comprehensive vision for healthcare should be well laid out. In this regard, the GOP has lived up to its nickname as the “party of no.” But, the public is left wondering what the GOP can and will do to facilitate every American gaining access to healthcare. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights, endowed by our creator and that it is the role of government to secure those rights. Healthcare is intrinsically tied to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (or property, if you will). The GOP can and should do better.
The Republican Party and the conservative movement in general is one that has not lived up to its ideals regarding fiscal responsibility. We are at once outraged by government spending when the Democrat majority proposes legislation, yet turn a blind eye to fiscal impropriety when Republicans are the ones spending. This hypocrisy has led to the GOP losing its credibility regarding fiscal conservatism.
I hope this letter will encourage GOP leaders to rid itself of the destructive forces of Trumpism with it’s associated antipathy for democracy, misinformation, nationalism, racist undertones, conspiracy theories, and overall tone of incivility. I also hope the GOP can begin to seriously consider and tackle the issues of climate change, access to healthcare, and return to fiscal responsibility.
Sincerely,
James Fisher
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